Hello everyone. The wait is over and Marvel's Spider-Man is finally here. Unlike some others, this is a set that I've been anticipating since it was announced. I'm a huge Spider-Man fan, so, while some of the Universes Beyond releases have left me less than enthused, I'm excited for this set. This week I have a few decks for you that show off some of these new cards, so let's get started.

Spider-Man Decks in Standard

Selesnya Swingers

We'll start things off by taking a look at a deck featuring some of my favorite Spider-Man characters. Let's take a look at the deck.

Selesnya Swingers | Standard | UltManLogan, archidekt.com user

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Aunt May
• 1 Ezekiel Sims, Spider-Totem
• 1 Mary Jane Watson
• 1 Silver Sable, Mercenary Leader
• 1 Spider-Bot
• 1 Spider-Girl, Legacy Hero
• 1 Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary
• 1 Spider-UK
• 2 City Pigeon
• 2 Radioactive Spider
• 2 Spectacular Spider-Man
• 2 Spider-Man India
• 2 Spider-Man, Web-Slinger
• 2 Web-Warriors
• 3 Guy in the Chair

• Spells (5)
• 1 Grow Extra Arms
• 1 Spectacular Tactics
• 1 Sudden Strike
• 1 Terrific Team-Up
• 1 Kapow!

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Friendly Neighborhood
• 1 Wall Crawl

• Artifacts (4)
• 1 Pictures of Spider-Man
• 1 Spider-Mobile
• 2 Costume Closet

• Lands (26)
• 9 Forest
• 9 Plains
• 2 Suburban Sanctuary
• 2 Urban Retreat
• 4 Vibrant Cityscape

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Let's start things off with the main man himself, Spectacular Spider-Man. For just 2 mana, you can flash Spectacular Spider-Man in at the end of your opponent's turn. By paying an additional mana during combat (or really any time during a turn), you can give him flying, allowing him to attack with evasion or block opposing flying creatures. However, you might want to keep him in your hand until you have 3 mana open. This allows you to flash him in and then sacrifice him to give your other creatures hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn.

Spectacular Spider-Man is joined by Web-Warriors, who put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control when it enters play. Web-Warriors would be the ideal card to return to your hand when you cast any of your creatures with web-slinging if it wasn't so expensive. In the late game, when you have extra mana to use, you can consider it, but for the early game, there are other options.

City Pigeon is one of the best options to return to your hand, as it only costs 1 mana to replay. It also has flying, making it easier to tap without it becoming blocked and killed during combat. Whenever City Pigeon leaves the battlefield, you'll create a Food token. You might need that extra life sacrificing the Food token gives you if you want to outlast your opponent.

Dimir Villains

Now that we've seen a deck filled with some of Spider-Man's greatest allies, let's switch gears and look at a deck filled with some of his worst enemies.

Dimir Villains | Standard | jeb0774, archidekt.com user

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Morbius the Living Vampire
• 2 Common Crook
• 2 Mysterio's Phantasm
• 2 Prowler, Clawed Thief
• 2 Scorpion, Seething Striker
• 2 Spider-Byte, Web Warden
• 2 Venom, Evil Unleashed
• 3 Flying Octobot
• 4 Agent Venom
• 4 Swarm, Being of Bees

• Spells (14)
• 2 The Spot's Portal
• 3 Scorpion's Sting
• 3 Secret Identity
• 4 Amazing Acrobatics
• 2 Venom's Hunger

• Lands (23)
• 8 Island
• 8 Swamp
• 1 Daily Bugle Building
• 2 Evolving Wilds
• 2 Urban Retreat
• 2 Watery Grave

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Flying Octobot is a great creature to play in the early stages of the game. Not only is it a 1/1 flying creature, but it also gains a +1/+1 counter whenever another Villain you control enters the battlefield. Even though this ability is limited to once per turn, you can quickly build up a decent amount of +1/+1 counters throughout the game.

Venom has been one of my favorite Spider-Man villains for years, and he plays a big part in this deck. With his 4/5 stats, Venom can typically handle any threat your opponent might put into play. However, for those times your opponent plays something with more power, Venom can still take them down due to its deathtouch. Once in your graveyard, Venom still isn't done, as you can share that deathtouch (along with a pair of +1/+1 counters) with one of your creatures during your turn.

As a kid, I remember watching Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (featuring Firestar and Iceman). One of the villains I remember most from that show is Swarm. This deck includes a full playset of Swarm, Being of Bees. Having both flash and flying makes Swarm a great creature to keep in your hand until you need him. As a surprise blocker, you can thwart your opponent's best laid plans. As a surprise attacker, you can play Swarm after your opponent has tapped all of their creatures, potentially swinging in for enough damage to finish them off.

Rakdos Mayhem

The final deck I have for you keeps the focus squarely on Spider-Man's villains, but this deck uses the mayhem ability to its advantage. Let's check it out.

Rakdos Mayhem | Standard | RobTheFlash, archidekt.com user

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Scorpion, Seething Striker
• 1 Venom, Evil Unleashed
• 2 Green Goblin, Revenant
• 2 Hobgoblin, Mantled Marauder
• 2 Tombstone, Career Criminal
• 2 Venomized Cat
• 3 Carnage, Crimson Chaos
• 3 Raging Goblinoids
• 3 Scarlet Spider, Kaine
• 3 Spider-Islanders
• 3 Swarm, Being of Bees
• 3 Ultimate Green Goblin

• Spells (16)
• 2 Scorpion's Sting
• 4 Shock
• 1 Prison Break
• 1 Sandman's Quicksand
• 2 Electro's Bolt
• 2 Risky Research
• 2 Romantic Rendezvous
• 2 Venom's Hunger

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 The Death of Gwen Stacy
• 2 Shadow of the Goblin

• Artifacts (2)
• 1 Eerie Gravestone
• 1 Rocket-Powered Goblin Glider

• Lands (23)
• 8 Mountain
• 9 Swamp
• 1 Oscorp Industries
• 1 Vibrant Cityscape
• 4 Ominous Asylum

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While this deck might have a lot of cards, the fact that it utilizes the mayhem mechanic makes the number of cards justifiable. To take advantage of mayhem, you'll want to get a copy of Ultimate Green Goblin into play early. That way, you can use its ability which causes you to discard a card at the beginning of your upkeep to maximum effect. Try to discard something that has mayhem and use the Treasure token Ultimate Green Goblin creates to cast that card, if necessary.

In addition to discarding cards with Ultimate Green Goblin, Green Goblin, Revenant also forces you to discard a card when he attacks. You'll also draw a card for each card you've discarded this turn, filling your hand back up with hopeful mayhem targets. This will also help boost the power of Hobgoblin, Mantled Marauder, setting up a powerful attacker.

In the event that you have a creature card in your graveyard that you'd like to play again, either by casting it or by discarding it to be able to cast it for its mayhem cost, Tombstone, Career Criminal has your back. While you can only return a Villain card to your hand, there are plenty of great options to choose from. Tombstone also provides you with a discount of 1 mana for any Villain spell you cast, making him a very powerful card for this deck.

Wrapping Up

For some people, Marvel's Spider-Man isn't a set that wows them. For me, though, this set is amazing! Even though the cards in this set don't feature that typical Magic aesthetic, I can still enjoy these cards alongside other cards that do. I suppose that's a good thing, because the upcoming release schedule for 2026 shows no sign of the Universes Beyond sets stopping.

What do you think of these decks? Feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes